After rescinding two proposals Monday, county commissioners voted again to auction a former Florence motel at $5,000.
Commissioners agreed with Economic Development Director Teresa Huffman’s sentiment preferring to keep the former Holiday Motel as a motel, but wanting to postpone the building’s sale no longer.

Norma Kline thought it was unusual when a friend called asking for advice on whether to send money to a man saying her computer would blow up in 48 hours unless she sent him $140.
“I don’t know what made her stop and call me, as she was convinced it was something she needed to do,” Kline said. “She is older and needs help navigating life, especially the financial stuff, so I suppose she thought she should ask me before driving to Vogt’s Supermarket in Hillsboro to send a $140 wire transfer to the scam artists.”

Firearms season for deer hunting is Dec. 4-15 this year in Kansas, but preparation for hunting started back in spring.
Craig Dodd of Chisholm Trail Outfitters in Hillsboro said many hunters would have planted food plots near creeks in spring and summer.

Pianist Brian Arnold will return to share not only his music but also his story with patrons free of charge at 7 p.m. Sunday at the USD 408 Performing Arts Center, as part of the Marion Ministerial Alliance Community Thanksgiving Services.
“He came at Chingawassa Days and did so well that we wanted to have him back,” Marion Christian Church pastor Carl Helm said Monday. “It was hard to believe anyone could play piano with one hand, but he was phenomenal.”

Marion ambulance volunteer Gene Winkler has retired from Marion County Emergency Medical Service as of Nov. 1 after 41 years of serving the community.
“I got into to doing this in August of 1972,” Winkler said. “It’s just time to let some of the younger kids do it.”

Though there is no shortage of bearded men in Marion County, this year during the month of “Movember,” Billy Alcorn is one more furry face, and his is a beard with a purpose.
For those who don’t know, “Movember” is the name of a global charity event in which participants help promote awareness and raises funds to combat prostate and testicular cancer by encouraging men to grow a mustache for the 30 days of November.

Several local Mennonite churches including First Mennonite Church and Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church are raising funds for Mennonite Central Committee to aid victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
Those wishing to donate can go to http://www.mcc.org/typhoon or contact the MCC Central States office in Newton at (316) 283-2720.

Sen. Jerry Moran will return to Marion, the site of his first town hall meeting on July 18, 1997 for his 1,000th meeting from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday at the Marion Community Center Ballroom.
The meeting will kickoff Moran’s “Kansas Listening Tour,” and include a free pancake lunch where visitors can share their ideas and feedback with the senator.

The once pretty fall leaves are now brown and falling into yards and streets everywhere. Last month Marion City Council made a push to encourage people to keep leaves out of streets, but the wind has other plans.
Short of chopping down all the trees to get rid of leaves, there are several options for residents looking to remove the pesky plant droppings from their yards and streets alike.

In 1960, H. Edwin Riffel, his wife Carol, and their son David left Marion for life on the island of Crete of the coast of Greece. Ed, a 1958 Herington High School graduate, was on active duty for the Air Force at the time, and the family spent two years overseas.
Before their second child, daughter Chris, was born, the Riffels moved back to Kansas, keeping in contact with Greek friends through letters.

Carolyn Moore, 69, of Marion died Monday, Nov. 11, at Stormont-Vail Hospital in Topeka. Carolyn (Mary Carolyn Lee) was born Aug. 14, 1944, in Beaumont, Texas, to Samuel Elton and Maybelle Lee.
She was raised in Anahuac, the alligator capital of Texas, and was the highest-ranking girl in her graduating class. Carolyn attended the University of Texas on scholarship to their prestigious “Plan II” honors program, graduating in 1966.

Eunice Geis Klein was born Oct. 16, 1916, at Durham. She was the daughter of Ed and Leah Geis. She grew up on the farm near Durham with siblings Quentin, Lois, and Betty.
She was a graduate of Durham High School and later attended business college. She married Edward Klein on Aug. 2, 1941. They had one daughter, Kathy. They cherished 56 years of marriage before his death on July 3, 1998.

Jerry J. Olsen, 78, died Sunday at St. Luke Hospital in Marion. He was born March 2, 1935, at Marion to Clyde and Clara Druse Olsen.
He was a lifetime resident of Marion County and a graduate of Marion High School. He served two years in the U.S. Army in the late 1950s. He was a farmer and truck driver and worked for Aulne Grain for 26 years.

Things are looking up at 102 W. Santa Fe St. in Marion. Felicia Dye has purchased the Santa Fe Apartments and is having them renovated.
Dye is a comedian living in Los Angeles, so the question comes to mind, how did she come to own property in Marion?

Homeowners undertake all sorts of projects expecting to add to the value of their home when it is time to sell, but different projects can have dramatically different returns on investment, according to local real estate agents.
At the most basic level, making sure a house is clean and in good condition will provide excellent returns on the time and money spent, Lori Heerey of Heerey Real Estate in Marion said.

It is getting to be the holiday season, and not everyone is looking to spread holiday cheer. The holidays are a prime time for thieves to target houses to steal Christmas gifts and holiday cheer.
Hillsboro Police Chief Daniel Kinning said the season presents an opportunity for criminals to take advantage of distracted homeowners and shoppers.

With the first arctic blast of cold, homeowners begin thinking, “How do I keep the cold out and the heat in?” The most common solutions are caulk around windows, insulate more, and turn the thermostat up.
Those fixes do the job, but they can be expensive. Other cost-reducing things can be done around the home to decrease heating bills and cost pennies on the dollar.

This past weekend I was happy to celebrate my 67th birthday. I know that seems older than dirt to many of you youngsters who receive the newspaper every week in your home or classroom. I usually don’t feel that old. I know I am, but most days it just doesn’t seem like it.
A couple of events besides my birthday brought it home to me during the weekend, however. There were specials on television and a review in the Sunday

DAYS OF YORE:

St. Luke Hospital Auxiliary met Nov. 8 with 27 members present. Dr. Paige Hatcher gave the program, outlining her educational and practice experience that led her to Marion.
Lenore Dieter, Gloria Ash, Judy Reno, Feebie Holdeman, Lois Johnson, and Lucy Helmer were the hostess committee for the month.

World Community Day was celebrated with a soup luncheon Nov. 1 at Marion Presbyterian Church. World Community Day began in 1943 for the study of peace by church women. It is sponsored by Church Women United.
This year’s theme was “Walking Through the Door of Opportunity.” Sue Clough led songs with accompaniment on piano by Shirley Bowers. Connie Fisher read scripture, pastor Jeremiah Lange and Jackie Volbrecht spoke about ministries and relationships locally that they participate in.

Rachel Schmidt of Norel Farms Bakery in Hillsboro recently received a special order for bierocks made with sausage instead of ground beef, to be served at Marion’s Christmas Celebration on Dec. 1.
In 15 years of making bierocks, she had never tried them with sausage, but she is always interested in trying new flavor combinations. So on Friday she set to filling the special order, as well as making others for regular customers.

After hosting a free-will donation holiday dinner last Christmas, Cindy Taylor and her brother, the late Loren Goddard, decided to make the event annual, hosting another dinner Nov. 28 at Cindy’s Cafe on Thanksgiving.
Taylor said she decided to host for the dinner because there had been no public dinner in town last year.

The Tabor College Chamber Strings and Symphonic Band will present their annual Christmas instrumental performance at 4 p.m. Sunday at Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church.
This year’s theme is “Snapshots of Christmas.” The Chamber Strings will begin the concert with “Rhythmic Snapshots of Christmas,” and all the selections will provide musical snapshots of the Christmas message.

Emprise Bank in Hillsboro will have a Silver Angel Tree this Christmas season to recognize elderly residents. The project will arrange gift-givers with elderly residents in need of Christmas cheer.
Nomination forms are available from the bank and are due Dec. 2. Beginning Dec. 6, angels will be posted on the tree with anonymous gift suggestions.

Girl Scout Cadette Troop 30113 is sponsoring a Silver Tree for elderly Marion residents who need help this Christmas. The troop is sponsoring the project to support elderly residents on fixed income who don’t have family nearby to celebrate with.
Gift suggestions will be placed on a tree at Tampa State Bank, and people can pick up a star, buy the gift, and return it to the bank with the star, wrapped or unwrapped, until Dec. 7.